document.write( "Question 10573: how can the square of a negative be a negative \n" ); document.write( "

Algebra.Com's Answer #5588 by rapaljer(4671) $\"\"$ $\"About$

You can put this solution on YOUR website!
It CAN'T! The square of a negative is positive. \r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "Having said that, perhaps what you are thinking about, for example, is this:
\n" ); document.write( "-6^2 = ???\r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "The answer to this is -36. But this is NOT the square of a negative! The only thing that gets squared here is the 6 (NOT the negative!). It really means \"the negative of (6 squared).\" So you square the 6, which is 36, and then you take the negative of 36, which is -36. So while this is often mistaken for the square of a negative, it is actually the negative of a square! Do you see the difference???\r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "R^2 at SCC\r
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